France once again expressed its concern on Thursday about the state of health of one of its citizens, Bernard Phelan, currently detained in Iran.
“We are particularly concerned given the fragility of his health,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre told reporters.
“The denial of medical access by the Iranian authorities is unacceptable,” denounced the Quai d’Orsay in particular, while the state of health of the Franco-Irish has recently deteriorated.
Bernard Phelan, 64, was arrested on October 3 while traveling as a consultant in Iran for a tour operator. He is imprisoned in Masschad, in the northeast of the country, in very precarious conditions.
A call for coordinated EU action
Paris once again demands that Bernard Phelan, as well as the other six French citizens currently detained in Iran, all described as “state hostages”, be released by Tehran.
The Quai d’Orsay spoke this Thursday in favor of coordinated action within the European Union, specifying in passing that this issue was addressed on Monday by the head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna.
“France is unfortunately not alone in this situation,” the Quai d’Orsay spokesman also stressed.
Catherine Colonna had already denounced on Wednesday the “arbitrary” detention of the seven Frenchmen in Iran and called for their “immediate release”.
Their supporters describe them as innocent people used by the Revolutionary Guard as leverage. Some have not been tried and have not been able to surround themselves with a lawyer. A demonstration is scheduled for Saturday in Paris to denounce the detention conditions of these prisoners.
Source: BFM TV
